New Girl In Town
by jmloftin03
Summary: When Callie Everdeen moves to the little town of Mystic Falls, she catches the eyes of both Tyler Lockwood and Jeremy Gilbert.  Who will she choose and does she have any "special" secrects of her own?
1. Chapter 1

*Jeremy's POV*

"Dude, have you seen the new girl?," Tyler yells at me as he comes to the table that I'm sitting at in the Grill. Everyone's been talking about this new girl all day. I'm really not all that interested in meeting her, there's too much stuff going on in my life right now what with Elena on the original vampire's hit list and her being suicidal and add that to the fact that I just got seriously rejected by Bonnie the other day, and I'm not that into meeting new people right now.

"No, and she can't be all that different from any of the other girls in our school," I shrug my shoulders as I get up to play pool, I grab a pole and offer it to Tyler, he takes it and gets into position to aim the queue ball. He's not all that focused on it though and misses the shot.

I shake my head and silently laugh at Tyler. I'm just getting into position to hit the ball when Tyler starts talking again, "Seriously, she's hot. I really don't have to tell you about that now though, there she is," Tyler nods in the girls directions. I glance over my should and then slowly straighten up. She really isn't that different from the other girls in our school, but she's something new to look at so I take my time giving her the once over.

She has curly brown hair that stops just below her shoulders. She's slim, but with some curves, my eyes are automatically drawn to her butt…the thing is huge, but in proportion to her body. She doesn't look at anyone as she walks in, must be with her parents too because she's following two people who look kind of like her. The woman has the same shape of face as her and the man has the same nose. They just walk to a table and sit down, talking quietly.

"Ok , so she's cute, what's her name," I ask as I watch her order something of the menu and give a smile to the waitress, it's a nice smile, full of pearly white teeth. She glances in my direction with a wisp of that smile still left on her face. When she sees that I'm looking at her, she blushes and quickly looks down at her hands under the table.

"Callie Everdeen, she's a shy girl, but I bet she's a freak," Tyler says it like fer-rek and them laughs at himself because he thinks he just that funny.

"Ugh, really man? Sometimes your such a dick, I bet you would strike out with her anyways. She seems like a good girl, something neither one of us are used to," I say as I turn back to the game and hit the queue ball, making all of the other balls scatter across the table. Tyler makes a grunting noise, still staring at Callie, like she's a piece of meat or something, poor girl. I think I'm going to go for stripes, I take aim and knock two of the stripped balls into the corner pocket.

"I never strike out Gilbert, I could have her if I wanted to," Tyler says. A waitress comes around and he orders something to drink, I get a coke and some fries. There is a crack as Tyler strikes home a couple of the solids.

"Ha, I bet she's a nice girl too. She would probably go out on a date with you just because she doesn't want to be mean and say no and when you go to put the moves on her she slaps you or something," I laugh loudly because its just hilarious to think about, if he can ever talk her into going on a date I want to be around to see her slap him. The look on his would make me laugh for years.

"You really want to make a bet on that," he asks cocking his head to the side.

"I will gladly take your money and watch you get slapped by some innocent new girl," I say.

"Good. There's the school prom coming up, I'll ask her to go with me and if you can find a date we can double that way you can be there first hand to watch me win this girl over," Tyler says. I completely forgot about the prom, being a junior I can go, but I don't have a date. Oh I could get one if I wanted to, but the only girl I want to go with has something going on with the new guy Luka. My mind once again turns to Bonnie…I really need to get over this girl. I'm tired of these girls playing with me.

"I'm not going to prom. No date and I'm not really interested in going," I say turning my back to Callie and Tyler. He hasn't let her out of his sight since she walked into the Grill.

"Pussy, come on you know you wanna go. Maybe you could even get lucky if you chose the right girl to go with, I could help you find one of THOSE girls," he says as he gives my shoulder a small push. Well to him it's a small push to me, I feel like I have just been hit by a brick wall. Man has he gotten strong since he became a werewolf.

"I dunno man, maybe. I thought you and Caroline had something going on," I ask. I had seen Tyler and Caroline talking a lot and from what Matt says he saw Tyler over at Caroline's house while her mom was at work.

"We're just friends, as much as I wish that weren't true, that's all she wants to be." I know this must be true because he actually looks put out.

"See man, I told you that you strike out," I say laughing at him again. He gives me a glower and sets his jaw giving me a warning that I'm pressing on one of his many buttons.

"So what do you say, we going to make a bet," he asks. I think about it for a second. If I make a bet with Tyler Lockwood, what would I want in return if he lost and what would he want from me if I lost.

"Na, I don't want take a bet with you, but I will watch and laugh my ass off. This is your conquest, if you can get with that girl than I will call you the biggest mack daddy of them all because that girl right there respects herself too much to stoop to your level, but hey, you may get to take her on a date on a night she's horney," I say

"Oh I so hope that is true. I would love have sex with her," again there is the cocky smile that I know so well.

"Ha, ok. Well go make your first move," I say holding out my arm in Callie's direction where it looks like she is getting up from the table and heading towards the bathroom. Tyler doesn't waist anytime. He walks away and leaves me standing at the table with our half finished game to watch her try and make a move on Callie.

*Callie's POV*

I hate being the new girl in town. I feel like I have this sign on around my neck that says fresh meat. Everyone was really nice at school, I made some friends with this girl Bonnie. She seemed really nice, she showed me around the school and introduced me to her two friends Elena and Caroline. I know that Elena has this serious boyfriend, Stefan. They said that I could meet him later when they came to the Grill. I had told them that my parents wanted to come eat here tonight and they all said that they would be here too.

I really don't know when they are going to show up, but for now I'm stuck sitting at a table with my parents. They are both talking about how their new jobs are going and about the new people that they have met. My dad is a mechanic and my mom is a dentist. My dad starts taking about his new boss, but gets interrupted when the waitress comes to take our orders. I get a cheeseburger with fries and a sprite, smiling politely and handing back the menu. I glance over in the direction of the pool tables to see if Bonnie or Elena have shown up yet, to see two guys staring at me. I lock eyes with one of them, he looks like the younger one of the two. He has brown hair, full lips that are cocked in a smile, he tall and built. I blush and quickly looked down at my hands, pretending to study my ring that my ex gave me. I probably should have given it back to him, but after what that ass did to me I deserve to keep it.

After I wait about a minute or so I glance back over by the guys who had been looking at me. The older one still is. He has short black hair and a kind of pinched face, he has a great body though, the kind that most girl's would love to get their hands on, but I can tell he's cocky and that's not my style, plus he looks like a dick head to me. The other guy though, the one who made me blush, has his back turned away from me and is bending over to take a shot. It gives me a good view of his back side…wow. I turn my attention back to my parents who are asking me how my first day went.

I tell them that it went great, that I made some new friends, the A.P. classes that I am in are perfect for me. This school is a bit farther behind my last school, so I don't have any problems keeping up with the work. The teachers all seems really nice, so far my favorite class is history taught my Mr. Saltzman. I like that he teaches about old legends and stuff.

I finally spot Elena and Bonnie coming into the Grill and when I point them out they let me go over to say hey to them. As I get up from the table I see the black haired boy follow me. Elena and Bonnie finally see me and they start walking in my direction. Situations like these make me nervous. What am I supposed to talk about with two girl that I have just met today. I'm about half way to meeting the girls when a hand lightly grabs my shoulder. I see the look on Bonnie's face, she's surprised and a little caught of guard…that makes two of us.

I look over my shoulder to see the black haired guy with his hand still on my shoulder. I look back at Bonnie and Elena, they are both just standing there and staring, Elena has a small smile on her face, but Bonnie now looks like she expected this to happen.

"Hi, you're the new girl right," the guy asks me. He takes his hand off of my shoulder and tries to give me a winning smile, but it kind of looks sleazy on him.

"Um, yeah, I'm Callie, you are," I raise and eyebrow at him in a question.

"I'm Tyler, Tyler Lockwood, I think we have Calculus together," he says. Now that he mentions it, we do. I noticed him because I thought he was hot. I ended up splitting that class between glancing at him and texting my friend, but I'm not to let him know that.

"I really wouldn't know. I didn't notice you," I say with a smile, I glance behind me to see that Bonnie is walking towards me again, Elena is still standing in the same place, but a really cute blond guy is with her now and she's making goo goo eyes at him, so I'm guessing that's her boyfriend, Stefan.

"Really, because I thought I saw you looking at me from across the room," he smiles slyly at me. Busted!

"No, not really. I'm in a new school. I have to scope out all the product don't I?" The product? What was I thinking? Ok, just smile really but to throw him off. Please Bonnie hurry up and get over here before I embarrass myself further. Tyler is just about to say something else when I hear her step up beside me.

"Hey Tyler," Bonnie says at my should. I could really kiss this girl right now.

"Hey, Bonnie, so you know Callie," he asks.

"Yeah, I showed her around the school and we kind of hit it off," Bonnie says. While they talk I focus on the guy back at the pool table. He's looking in this direction, but I can tell he's not looking at me. He's has the same look as Elena did when she was looking at Stefan, but the guy is looking at Bonnie. So he must have a crush on her. Damn. Well that sucks, looks like I'm stuck with Tyler for now. At least he has a good body…maybe he's not so bad.

"So, are you going to help out Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline with the prom decorations," Tyler asks.

"Sure, sounds like fun to me. Besides my parents work a lot, so I have nothing better to do," I say, putting my hands in my back pockets. I don't miss the fact that when I do that Tyler's eyes drop down to my chest. Maybe I can have some fun with this guy after all.

"Great, so do you guys want to come play pool with me and Jeremy," He gesturing toward the guy still at the pool table. I see Bonnie stiffen a little, but then she looks at me and asks me silently if I want to. I love to play pool…but I'm not very good at it, I'm better at making distractions than actually playing the game.

"Um, I'm really not that good and pool," I say. I already know what he's going to say just by the look on his face.

"I can teach you," he's predictable this one. I glance back over at Bonnie who has locked eyes with Jeremy.

"Sure, why not," I say.

"OK, well I'm not going to leave you alone with these two boys, and I'm not very good at pool either. We can do teams, one bad player and one good player to each team," Bonnie says with a smile.

Tyler seems ok with this idea, so we follow him back to their pool table. I stand back silently while Tyler tells Jeremy that we are joining in on the game. He says ok and starts gathering the balls back together in the triangle.

"So who's going to be on my team," Tyler asks, I know he wants me to speak up and say Me! Me! Me! And I'm just about to say that I'll be on his team anyways because its pretty obvious that there is something between Jeremy and Bonnie, but just as I'm opening my mouth Bonnie says she wants on Tyler's team.

Jeremy and I both look at Bonnie, confused, but Tyler just looks disappointed. I'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. I don't want to be on Tyler's team because I'm positive that any time I bend over he will be staring at my ass, but I also don't want to be on Jeremy's team if he and Bonnie have something going on. Well now its kind of obvious that he really likes her, but she doesn't feel that way about him…or she's trying not to feel that way about it.

"Ok, so it's me and you," I say gesturing between me and Jeremy. This is awkward.

"Yeah, I guess so," he says. He goes back to placing the balls in the triangle, I grab my pool stick and stand off to the side closer to Bonnie, Tyler soon follows and stands to my other side. He's standing so close to me that he arm brushes up against mine, I look up at him to find him smiling at me. I give a small smile back, and take a step closer to Bonnie. She's looks at me and must see the kind of harassed look that I'm trying to hide from Tyler and looks amused. I'm so glad she can have fun at my awkwardness. I lean in and whisper, "He's going to get worse isn't he?"

She actually laughs and nods her head. I smile back, and just shake my head. Jeremy has the game all set up now.

"So who's going to break," he asks.

"I will," I say as I walk up and take my position. I see Tyler step up behind me. He must think that he's going to get to stand behind me and try to guide my hand and get in really close.

"Do you need help," He asks. I glance behind me and shake my head, I can feel that my shirt has rode up a little bit, but its not too bad, I'm not showing ass crack or anything, but I know that Tyler is looking at the small exposed skin where I know my tattoo is peaking out. I pull back my stick and take perfect aim, knocking the balls in all different directions. A solid flies into one of the side pockets, score one for me.

"I thought you said you couldn't play very well," Tyler asks. I stand up and straighten my shirt back down to where it is supposed to be.

"I'm not, but I'm good at distractions. See I had you distracted didn't I," I say with a mischievous grin. I get the pleasure of seeing his mouth drop open and than Jeremy laughs really loud.

The night goes on like that for a while. Jeremy and I cream Tyler and Bonnie. Mostly because Tyler falls for all my distractions and Bonnie really does suck at pool. She tried though and we all eventually got comfortable with each other. The tension eased a little between Bonnie and Jeremy and I got used to Tyler's lingering stair. I start to crack some jokes about how easy it is to distract Tyler. At some point we completely forget about the game and just stand around talking, but for some reason it seems like this group of friends is holding something back from me.

"So, let me get this straight, Elena is dating Stefan, and Stefan has a brother, Damon, who is completely in love with Elena because she looks like on of their ex girlfriends," I ask. Bonnie nods her head at me.

"Trust me though having Damon in love with Elena makes things a lot better around here. Damon can be…spiteful," Bonnie says. They never really get around to telling me what makes him so spiteful though. Every time I ask they change the subject. I have now found out that Jeremy is Elena's younger brother, so now I get the odd tension between Bonnie and Jeremy, they like each other but Bonnie doesn't want to do anything with him because he's her best friends little brother.

At some point Bonnie wander's off back to Elena, taking Jeremy with her and I'm alone with Tyler. I lean up against the table, deciding weather or not I like this guy. He's hot, that's for sure. Strong arms, firm jaw line, dark brown eyes. My friend Jess would just about be kicking me in the ass telling me to go for him.

"So, how are you liking school," he asks me. I'm really not interested in talking about school. I really just want to stand here and look him up and down like he's been doing to be all night long.

"Eh, its ok. I don't find it hard, but than I don't find most things that hard," I'm trying to tease him some more and it seems to be working. He looks a bit confused though.

"So everything just comes to you naturally," he asks, taking a step toward me. I watch him like a hawk, judging his every move.

"I find that if you don't sweat the small stuff everything just kind of fits together. School is easy to me because I don't really worry about the small things like did I take enough notes, did I get too distracted by the cute guy two rows down from me," I say, giving away the fact that I had been looking at him earlier. He grins and moves a little closer to the table, to me.

"So your going to admit to that now," crossing his arms, he asks me. I blush a little and look down at the ground, giving a small nod. I see his shoes pop up in my vision and I lift my head to look at him again.

"But, I wasn't staring, well not the whole time, and I was telling the truth most of the time was talking to my friend from back home," I say trying to cover my ass. He's close to me now, not all up in my bubble close, but I can see that his eyes are brown with flecks of gold in them. I'm starting to get a little flustered around him.

"Its ok, does it help if I say I was looking at you too," he's all serious now. I glance around the building, looking to see if my parents are watching us. They aren't, they're in their own little world at their table, but then I see Caroline watching us from across the room. She looks a bit shocked and betrayed. Oh no. Tyler glances over at her too and then straightens up a little bit, but he turns his attention back to me.

"Are you and Caroline dating," I ask. The look on her face makes me have to ask. I can't mess with a guy who is dating one of the first girls to be my friends since I moved to this small town.

"No. We're friends, I did try to date her, but she's still hung up on her ex, Matt. That guy over there," he points to a solid looking blond guy. He's about the same height as Tyler, but that's where the similarity wears off. Where Tyler is all dark, Matt is all light. He has blond hair, blue eyes, and like I just stated, he's a solid build, all muscle. He is also looking from Caroline to Tyler and back. She's no longer looking at Tyler, but at Matt, and I can tell that Tyler is right. Even if she does like Tyler she is still in love with Matt and he still feels the same way about her.

"Now, are you going to answer my question," Tyler asks, demanding my attention again. Tearing my gaze away from the two angelic looking blonds, I focus back on the guy in front of me.

"Not really, because I didn't catch you looking at me," I look down at the ring on my hand again, it's a nervous habit, I get all fidgety and start focusing on my hands. Tyler sees me looking at the blue stone on my hand and lightly runs a finger along the stone.

"Who was he," He asks. I really don't want to talk about Brandon. He's in the past the only thing that he did good for me was to give me this ring, after that he was just a jack ass.

"He wasn't who I thought he was. I really don't want to talk about it," I say looking back up at Tyler.

*Jeremy's POV*

Wow, he maybe he can get any girl he wants. She's falling for him that much is true, I can see that from way over here. Bonnie, Elena, and Stefan are coming up with a new plan to get away from Clouse, but I'm caught up in what's happening over there.

I thought she would see threw Tyler's game and just laugh in his face or something, but no. He almost got into some trouble when she saw Caroline and the look on her face, but he covered his tracks by actually telling her the truth. I saw him motion toward Matt and knew he was telling her that Caroline is still in love with him. I also know that Caroline can hear everything they are talking about with her vampire hearing. I wish I had that.

When I look back at Callie and Tyler she seems to be in an awkward position. She's glancing down at a ring on her hand and it looks like he is stroking the finger its on and she actually looks uncomfortable. I think this would be a perfect time for me to step in on this. I forgot my drink over there anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

***Jeremy's POV***

**As I approached Tyler and Callie, I see Caroline walking toward the two, like I am. She has on her vampy pissed off face now. Uh oh. I speed up a little trying to head off the trouble before it started. I knew there was something going on between those two, but Tyler had to act like a player and go for the new girl. **

**I didn't beat Caroline to the table, stupid vampire speed. She hadn't started a scene yet though. I ended up practically running back to the pool table, almost tripping over my feet as I drew closer. Callie looks a bit confused to see the look on Caroline's face, but was being nice all the same. Do they know each other?**

"**Hey, guys' what's up," I say as I put my hand on the pool table trying to cover the fact that I just tripped. All three heads whipped in my direction. Tyler looked a bit relieved, Caroline looked aggravated, and Callie still looked confused. **

"**Nothing I was just talking to Tyler and our new friend Callie. Isn't it nice that she's fitting in so well," she practically snarls at the frightened new girl. Callie looks like a frightened chew-Wawa, kind of trembling around the edges and is slowly backing away from Tyler. She shouldn't have to be afraid of Caroline, he shouldn't have put her in this type of situation, I want to bail her out, but I know that to do that means that I have to save Tyler's ass as well.**

"**Yeah, I asked Tyler to keep her company because I had to talk to Elena and Stefan about that thing that's going on," I say. Caroline knows all about what's going on with Clouse. She also knows that Tyler can't know and with Callie being a new girl in town we really don't want her knowing anything. The pissy look is wiped away from her face in an instant and replaced my a remorseful one. Score! Damn I'm good at covering.**

"**What thing," Tyler asks, his brow furrowing in confusion. Damn, ok, so I'm not that good. Caroline and I share a look and she fumbles with coming up with a convincing lie, but ends up giving him a half truth. "Um, its nothing really just something that Stefan and Elena have been fight about, its so stupid really," she says with a fake smile. **

"**Ok, so you don't want to tell me, I get it. So, what's up?" he asks as he puts his arm on the pool table and takes a step closer to Caroline, making things even more tense between him and Callie. I see the look on her face and know that she feels like shit because of what he has just done to her. He made her look like a fool and in front of someone who could have been her friend.**

"**I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go for a walk? You know with the full moon out and all its going to be romantic and stuff," translation, we need to get you to the chain cellar before you rip out someone's throat. Tyler nods his head furiously, practically throws his drink down on the table and almost runs to the door, no doubt once he's out those doors he'll be hauling ass to the cell that he will be in all night long, with Caroline by his side the whole time. **

"**Well that was odd," Callie stammers out, watching the two run out The Grill.**

"**Yeah, well, they are kind of a thing," I shrug my shoulders. Tyler pretty much ruined whatever chance he had with this girl. What could it hurt if I try getting to know her, I need to move off of Bonnie, she doesn't want me anyways.**

"**I guess they are. He's a player, isn't he,?" she asks, still looking at the door that Tyler just ran out of. She looks really pissed too. If looks could kill, I'm sure Tyler would be on the floor struggling to breath his last breath.**

"**Yeah, you could say that. He's been through a lot though," I try to defend him. I can't exactly tell Callie that he was just running away from everyone because he doesn't want to eat anyone. He's going to have to come up with a story to cover his own ass.**

"**Doesn't mean he can play with Caroline's feelings like that though. If I had known that they where kind of dating I wouldn't have flirted with him. She's a sweet girl, I want to stay friends with her," she says with a mad look on her face. Her eyebrows are drawn together and her lips are kind of in a pouty face. She's cute when she's angry. Suddenly she looks back at me and catches me staring at her. Quickly, I look away from her, like I've been caught thinking about her naked or something.**

"**You and Bonnie have a thing too, don't you," Callie still looks angry. She must think that I'm trying to do the same thing that Tyler was doing. Only difference is that me and Bonnie really don't have anything going on. She's made it perfectly clear to me that she wants Luka. I glance back at Bonnie, who is caught up in an argument with Elena. She's beautiful, that's for sure, but there will never be anything between us.**

"**I thought we did, but she made it clear that nothing is going to happen. She likes this new guy, Luka. Plus, she doesn't want to date her best friend's little brother," I say put out. Callie still doesn't looked convinced though. She keeps looking between me and Bonnie, like she's expecting the same reaction out of Bonnie that came out of Caroline. She can look all she wants, but she wont find an angry Bonnie if we flirt.**

"**You can trust me, you know," I say as I reach out to put my hand on hers. She jerks it back and glares at me. Great now her guard is up and I haven't even done anything to deserve her anger. This is Vikki all over again. Hopefully Tyler and I don't get into any fights over this girl though. **

"**No, I don't. Your cute and everything…like really cute, but I don't like games, no matter how cute the guy is," She says, taking a step back. **

"**I'm not playing a game with you. I'm not even trying to flirt with you. We can just be friends, do you like to draw," I drop my hand, and take a step away from her too, trying to calm her down. It seems to work because she settles down a little bit and looks back up at me with a kind of apologetic look.**

"**Friends? Yeah ok. We can be friends and yes I like to draw, I'm pretty good," she says, leaning against the pool table again. She props one leg up and looks down at the floor.**

"**Me too, do you have an art class that your in?" I take a seat in a chair across from her. **

"**Yeah, I'm in art IV. We have this new assignment that's kind of tricky for me though. We're supposed to make a wire sculpture of an animal, and I can't seem to get the shape right for the stupid things head," she furrows her brow again and make the pouty face that I like so much and I smile a little bit at her.**

"**Maybe I can help. I'm not as advanced in the art classes as you are, but I would like to help," I say. Callie looks back up at me and seems to judge whether or not she can trust being alone with me, incase me and Bonnie are dating.**

"**Sure, we can meet here tomorrow after school and I'll bring it with me," Callie says. She must have chosen to do it in public, thinking it would make things less awkward between her and Bonnie. I really wish I could punch Tyler in the face for making this so difficult. Now her guard is up and I can't seem to soften her up. I'll take what I can get though, and I want to have Callie's trust.**

"**Ok, sounds good to me. Do you need a ride or anything," I ask, trying to be helpful. Again, she looks at me suspiciously and thinks about it for a second.**

"**Yeah, sure. I'll have to carry a lot of wire and stuff with me, so a ride would be helpful," she says, and finally slides in to the chair across from me. She fiddles with the zipper on her jacket before she finally looks at me again.**

"**So you think I'm cute," I say, trying to lighten the bad mood that she was just put in. It doesn't make her laugh, she glowers at me and shakes away some of the curls that have gotten into her face, "Yeah, but don't let it get to your head."**

**I give her a big grin and slowly she returns it, tucks a stray curly hair behind her ear, and she starts to blush a little before she looks down at the table and starts to trace the wood patterns with her middle finger. That's when I get a good look at the ring on her finger.**

**It's the same stone that Damon, Stefan, and Caroline have. The same stone that lets them walk in the sun. I can feel the blood drain away from my face. No, Callie can't be a vampire. She's too full of life, she has parents that look like her, she just can't be.**

**I clear my throat and point down at the ring, "That's pretty, can I see it," I ask. The sun is just starting to set and there is a window close to where we are. There is a soft glow that is hitting us a little right now. I need to know if she is like Stefan.**

"**Sure, its just some ring that my ex gave me. I was having some problems and he said it was supposed to help," she says as she takes off the ring and hands it to me. Callie doesn't sizzle and burn like a vampire would. Nothing happens to her, but I get a closer look at the stone in the ring anyways. It turns out that the ring isn't exactly like Damon's and Stephan's, its has more of a green tint to it. I run my finger along the stone and hand it back to her. She places it back on her finger and goes back to tracing patterns in the wood.**

"**What kind of problems?" That's something that a friend can ask another friend. She looks up at me and straightens up a little bit.**

"**Not the kind that I want to tell someone that I just met," she says a bit defensively. Touchy, touchy this one, but she's hiding something and I know it. Callie is defiantly hiding something, and she's a mystery. I find that I'm intrigued by that fact. I like a girl who can keep me on my toes.**

***Callie's POV***

**My first impression of Tyler was the right one. He's a dick and a liar. I should know better than to go against my first instincts. Hopefully I didn't completely screw up the small amount of friendship that Caroline and I had made. She was really pissed off when she came over to talk to us. Thank god Jeremy showed up and covered for Tyler because I really don't want to get into a fight over some guy I just met.**

**That doesn't mean that I trust Jeremy though. He seems to be in the same kind of situation that Tyler is in and conveniently they both have some excuse that says they aren't with the girls. I have decided that I'm not setting my sights on any guy until I know for sure if they are single or not. **

**Jeremy is a nice guy though. That much I can tell, but he's also nosy. I don't like that he seemed to notice my ring. For a second I thought he knew what it was for. I really don't want anyone knowing what I am; it makes things difficult for me. Thankfully, he didn't really know what it was, that much I could tell because when I took it off he looked really relieved by something. I don't know what he expected would happen.**

"**Right, well I think I need to be getting home now," I say, standing up. As I do, so does he.**

"**Do you need a ride home or someone to walk with," he asks. I have to think about this for a second. What is he trying to do? I already made myself clear that all I want to be is friends for now. I look around for my parents, but I can't find them in the crowd that has popped up. This really is a small town if this in the only place people can go for fun.**

**I check my phone and see that I have a message from my dad.**

**Sorry we left without you, but we didn't want to interrupt you with your new friends. Whenever your ready to come home just call or text and either your mother or I will come and get you. Love you.**

I give a heavy sigh, "Yeah, actually I do. My parents already left. They didn't want to interrupt me having fun," I say. I'm actually kind of put out and angry with my parents. Yeah, I get to walk home with a cute guy, but I thought that after we moved my parents would be around more. Guess that was just a dream.

"Ok, well walk with me so that I can tell my sister that I am going to walk you home and then we'll leave," Jeremy says as he straightens up and adjusts his jacket. He's about a foot taller than me, and god those eyes of his make my stomach do summersaults. I'm afraid to say anything with him looking at me that way, so I just nod my head and follow him over to where Elena, Bonnie, and Stefan stand.

"Hey, Elena!," Jeremy yells as he runs up to his older sister with me in tow. I don't know if Elena will be ok with this. If I had a younger brother who was willing to walk a strange new girl home, I would be suspicious of it.

"Yeah?" Bonnie and Stefan stop talking as soon as I come into view. Wow, I feel special, I can make things awkward just by walking up with no one knowing about my special secret.

"I'm going to walk Callie home, Okay?" Elena smiles at me and then tell him that its fine. She looks happy that her brother is willing to walk me home. Bonnie doesn't say anything, and she actually give me a small smile too and than give Jeremy an approving look. Maybe he was telling the truth unlike Tyler.

"Callie, can I get your cell number. I want to make sure that you get home safely," Elena says. I give it to her, and I tell Stefan it was nice to meet him, even though I didn't really, and wave good-by to Elena and Bonnie.

The air outside is nice and fresh. It feel nice out here and the moon is really pretty it almost puts me back into my good mood, but then I remember that somewhere out here Tyler is taking a "romantic walk" with Caroline. I bet they're making out behind a tree not far from here.

I really don't live that far from The Grill, its maybe a ten minute walk, but its going to feel like forever walking with Jeremy.

"You really don't have to walk me home. I don't live far," I say, looking up at him. Its much easier to talk to him when I can't really see his face. I don't get so confused when I can't get distracted by his smile or his eyes.

"No, its no problem. Really. I don't live that far either, what street do you live on," he asks, looking straight ahead.

"Elm St. but its just a couple of block away," I look down at my shoes, but I lose my footing a little and bump into his shoulder.

" I know where it is, its just a couple of streets away from where I live. We're practically neighbors," he jokes. I can hear the smile in his voice and when I look up at him I can see the white gleam of his teeth through the night air. It makes me crack a smile, too.

We walk silently for a while, but its not uncomfortable. I'm not a big talker and it seems like he isn't either. So we walk silently through the night, sometimes one of us bumps into the other, but neither one of us apologizes. When he bumps into me for about the tenth time I actually laugh, "Ok, now your just doing that on purpose." I push him away playfully and he stumbles a bit, laughing. 

"I swear I'm not, I just can't walk in a straight line around pretty girls. Its like they make me drunk," he jokes, but it makes me blush because it means that Jeremy just called me pretty. I hate that I always blush when I get nervous; its such a give a way.

"Well sober up man. I don't wanna get mugged because your drunk just by my presence," I say jokingly. He must know that I'm joking, but he gets all serious and starts walking closer to me than before and our arms are brushing against each other.

"I would never let that happen. It can get dangerous around here at night," he's still all serious only now he's looking all around through the trees and bushes and stuff like he expects a robber to pop out and say, "BOOGY BOOGY BOOGY!"

I don't know whether to be grateful that he is willing to protect me, or be offended that he doesn't think that I can defend myself. If he only knew the things that I could do.

The rest of the walk home is kind of tense after that. I don't know what to say after that and he doesn't either. The rest of the walk I spend looking out at other people's lawns. Some people have rose bushes, some have lilies, I love lilies. We have just rounded the corner when my house comes into view, we walk a couple more feet and stop at the mail box outside the fence that goes all the way around my house.

It really is a pretty house, it's a two story mostly made out of brick. The shutters are a dark blue, and there are bushes that go all along the house. There is a big oak tree right outside my window and the front porch light is on, casting a hazy glow all the way out to where I stand with Jeremy. The sidewalk leads all the way from the front door of my house to where we stand now by the mail box. 

"Thanks for walking me home," I say awkwardly, stuffing my hands in my jacket pocket and looking up at Jeremy. I really shouldn't have looked up at him because now my heart is all fluttery even though I know it shouldn't be.

"No problem, really. We can make this a daily thing; me walking you home? You know from school and stuff," his eyes lock onto mine and I feel myself nod my head. This is why I shouldn't have looked up at him, I shouldn't be agreeing to these types of things so quickly after I just met this guy. I shouldn't want to be around a guy who is caught up in girl drama, but I find myself liking Jeremy.

"I'd like that," I say with a smile as I open the gate to my yard. I look up at Jeremy as I close the gate to my yard, closing it between us, for the night. He's smiling too as he takes a couple of steps away.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he says with a wave that I return. I take my time walking to my front door, dragging my feet a little. Today was a good day, with some bumpy spots, but if there is something that could go on between me and Jeremy than maybe all the crap with Tyler was worth it…that is if Jeremy is worth it and I have a feeling that he is.

I smile the whole way to my front door, feeling a little like a catholic school girl. I turn around expecting Jeremy to already be walking back down the street, but am surprised to find him still at my gate, smiling at me. _We're just friend, We're just friends, We're just friends _I find myself chanting, but its not helping because I know that I am already falling for this guy.


End file.
